If visual content was an army, then an infographic would be a tank. Infographics serve as incredible marketing weapons. They’re a great source of information and everyone* loves them! The reason infographics are so appealing is because they bring data alive.
With so many infographic creation tools available these days, (some of them offering free templates), almost anyone can gather data and produce their own. However, designing a social-friendly infographic is another matter. Today we’ll teach you how to make an irresistible infographic. Enjoy!
1. Infuse it with compelling data
Some infographics use data that has been shared to death. Perhaps it’s time you inject something new and put a little bit more elbow grease in researching for something that will shock, titillate, amaze, or even scare your audience.
Three steps to gathering data or statistics:
Step 1: Research the information you want to convey.
(Example: Did you know that snakes can go for 2 YEARS or more without food?)
Step 2: Verify this information, citing credible sources.
(Example: This is because snakes have the ability to lower their metabolic rates by 72 percent or more.)
Step 3: Add compelling data or statistics that support your information.
(Example: Surprisingly, snakes are able to grow even though they are starving.)
2. Create a design that complements your data
The average person processes images 60,000 faster than written text, so that’s already one reason why you should take your infographic design seriously. You can attempt to create the infographic yourself, but why do that when there are numerous designers who can do a stellar job? Hiring a professional designer will leave you with more time to perform tasks you’re better suited to do. It won’t cost you an arm and a leg; you’d be surprised by how much you can stretch your budget if you opt for a reliable infographics designer.
3. Check your infographic sizing
Before your infographic can come across as appealing to your audience, you’ll want to optimize the size first. People who are frustrated over the minuscule size of your infographic are less likely to share it out.
Want to know the optimal size your infographic should be? Apply the right sizes based on the desired platform as shown below:
- Major infographic sites like Visual.ly: up to 1240 x 1750 pixels
- Pinterest: 600 x infinite pixels
- Facebook: minimum 403 x 403 pixels or maximum 2048 x 2048 pixels
- Google+: 497 x 373 pixels or 2048 x 2048 pixels (in lightbox)
- Table-optimized: 600 to 640 pixels
- Smartphone-optimized: Not to exceed 288 pixel width
4. Create embed codes for Infographics
If you want a throng of people to look at your infographic, make it easy for them to share it. People are inherently lazy (and this is a fact!) so if you want something from them, you’d better go the extra mile and cajole them so that they will comply. And what better way to do so than to provide embed codes that allow your audience to share your infographic? Not only will your visual masterpiece be well on the way towards viral superstardom, but you will also gain the additional benefit of inbound links.
And worry not; you won’t need to pull these embed codes out of thin air because you can get an embed code generator to do the job for you. All you need to do is create two versions of your infographics: one full-sized, the other one as a teaser for your visitors. Next, include the embed code and before long it’ll help drive traffic back to your site as visitors pop by to view and download the full-sized infographic.
5. Use the ‘PIN IT’ button
Do not underestimate the power of Pinterest, it’s not only for fashion and whimsical female-oriented images. A recent finding pointed out that users are 10 times more likely to click on a “Pin It” button compared to a “Tweet This” button. Check out the Pinterest Goodies page and before long, you’ll have a spiffy new Pinterest “Pin It” widget installed that lets people Pin any infographic image posted on your site!
6. Perform manual search-and-pitch
Now that you’ve pretty much created an infographic masterpiece, you’ll want to tell everyone about it. Perform a manual outreach by searching through Google Blog Search and Technorati. Offer bloggers the chance to add value to their posts by sharing your fresh new infographic on their site. P.S: Don’t forget the embed code (see above)!
7. Orchestrate a social media drip campaign
A drip campaign is where you leverage the information found in your infographic and release it bit by bit via major social media. Instead of attaching a link to your infographic, why not leave some “breadcrumbs” in the form of info-tidbits? Ideally, break down the infographic into several “pieces” of info and schedule them (up to 10 – 15 tweets spread throughout a 3-day period) to be posted on Twitter.
Timing is also the key to having your infographic go viral. Take a look at the Thanksgiving infographic image above. You can break down the information into several parts and tweet about the size of the largest pumpkin pie ever baked or the heaviest turkey ever raised – before and during Thanksgiving. Don’t forget the #thanksgiving hashtag!
Similarly, this can be done on Facebook and Google+. There’s no reason why you can’t replicate this method on other sites as long as you spread out the posts without annoying your readers or followers.
